A new prison stretching the size of 39 football pitches has welcomed its first inmates – with a promise to slash Britain’s out-of-control re-offending rates. The first prisoners are now locked inside the new £400m state-of-the-art HMP Millsike, where almost 1,500 prison places will help ease the nation’s chronic overcrowding crisis.
HMP Millsike, in Yorkshire, is the first of four new jails to be opened as part of the pledge to create 14,000 extra prison places by 2031, keeping dangerous offenders behind bars. Ministers say this extra capacity will help keep the public safe by “making sure” the country never runs out of space again. As a Category C “resettlement” prison, HMP Millsike has been designed with the aim of cutting crime and reducing reoffending.
Named after a local river, HMP Millsike has been constructed on 50 acres of land near York.
The project is also being delivered in partnership with local stakeholders and communities, with more than 40 percent of construction orders coming from within 50 miles of the site.
When up and running, it will run solely on electricity, making it the first of its kind in the UK.
The prison will be powered by solar panels, heat pump technology and more efficient lighting systems, meaning it will use approximately a quarter of the energy used to heat traditional Victorian prisons.
It includes 24 workshops and training facilities aimed at getting offenders into work on release and away from crime for good, so fewer people become victims in the future.
Last year thousands of prisoners were set free early, as the government was forced to launch an emergency plan to ease overcrowding in jails in England and Wales.
Offenders serving more than five years were released on licence after spending 40% of their time behind bars, a scheme that excludes those convicted of serious violence, sex crimes and terrorism.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the House of Commons that the government “must begin with building more prisons” but acknowledged “we cannot build our way out of this problem”.
The prison population has been growing by around 4,500 a year – faster than previous governments had built new cells.
Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, James Timpson, said: “HMP Millsike is a vital part of our Plan for Change, building 14,000 new prison places by 2031.
“This modern prison has been designed to cut crime. This prison will force offenders to turn their backs on crime, delivering safer streets and ensuring there are fewer victims in the future.”
The prison is the size of 39 football pitches and comes fitted with security technology to combat the drugs, drones and phones that have plagued prisons in recent years and risked the safety of frontline officers.
This includes reinforced barless windows to deter drone activity, hundreds of CCTV cameras, and X-ray body scanners to spot and stop contraband entering the prison.
The prison is being operated by Mitie Care and Custody Education with workplace training provider PeoplePlus giving offenders the tools they need to find work on release and stay on the straight and narrow.
Managing director Russell Trent said: “As the first prisoners arrive at HMP Millsike, our focus is on building safer communities by creating an environment that promotes problem solving and self-determination to help the rehabilitation process enabling prisoners to break the cycle of reoffending.
“As a resettlement prison, every element including the design, facilities and technology is purposefully structured so that prisoners leave HMP Millsike qualified, employable and ready to integrate and contribute to society.”
With the country still using many of its Victorian prisons, officials insist HMP Millsike has been built to stand the test of time. Its use of modern materials and fittings will also keep running and repair costs to a minimum for taxpayers.
Its opening is a major milestone in the government’s 10-year prison capacity strategy published in December. This plan includes 6,400 places through new houseblocks and 6,500 places via new prisons. One thousand rapid deployment cells will be rolled out across the estate while more than 1,000 existing cells will be refurbished.
It follows a £2.3 billion investment to deliver these prison builds, with a further £500 million going towards vital building maintenance across prisons and the probation service by the end of March 2026. The strategy will work alongside the Independent Sentencing Review to ensure the most serious offenders can always be sent to prison to protect the public.